Fiamma Cuore
by Ashtora
Summary: She was the youngest firebender to ever reach the rank of master. She was the a sore spot for Lord Ozai, an opposition to his conquest. She was confirmed dead 2 years ago. Her name was Fiammetta, and here's the thing: She never really died.
1. Prologue

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the associated characters. I am merely a freakish 16 year old that happens to like the show and wanted to write a story for this. My character however, I do own.

This is just a prologue and only barely mentions the Avatar characters at all. They'll show up in the next chapter.

* * *

_3 years ago…_

The part of dawn when the sky has barely begun to be tinted rose had always been a peaceful time that brought the hope of a new day. The birds were still asleep and few, if any, people were up and about. On this day, a man and his son had taken an early morning walk on the beach before the summer was over and the water began to freeze again and make this time of day unbearable. Upon the beach, a little boy ran up to a sea chest, torn open and splintered, its contents spilling out, pieces of clothing were still washing up onto the shore. The man grabbed his son and pulled him away from the chest.

"Don't touch that son," the man said gruffly "We have to get to the docks remember?" the young boy nodded and walked away, humming some song under his breath as his father led him along the beach. He stopped a few moments later and screamed. His father stared in shock, for on the beach was a girl, clutching a piece of wood for dear life, her brown dress tattered, her hair, falling around her, floating up when a wave crashed over her body, her eyes were closed and her skin was deathly pale. The man ran to her and checked her pulse, it as faint and weak, but still present. He shouted to the boy to run to the village for a healer. The boy nodded and ran off as the man dragged the girl onto the beach. She looked to be 16 or so, she was very tall, but surprisingly light, and he saw her ribs sticking out through her dress, the bruises were especially pronounced on her overly pale skin.

He set her on a dryer patch of sand, still cold, despite that it was still late summer, and the sand had yet to warm from the sun in the sky. Her skin was cold, her face contorted with pain.

Her eyes opened slightly and she gasped for air, as if drowning in a sea. She fought wildly and the man forced her to lie down.

"Calm down girl," He grunted as she fought his grasp "you're ok now, there's a healer on the way." The girl nodded, her icy blue eyes staring up at the man, she nodded, half into another fit of unconsciousness. The healer arrived as she fainted once again.

_Present time…_

That day was a blur to her then, and it still it is. The man who found the poor girl on the beach took her in once the healer had finished getting the bruised girl back to health. 3 years went by in the blink of an eye, and she accidentally revealed her darkest secret. That's what got her into her current problem.

"Draw the heat from within and sink it into your very skin." She murmured as she wrapped her arms around the thin shirt she wore, her pants were torn at the knees and her feet were bare. The wind had picked up extremely and had driven rain through her skin during a midsummer storm. The ground was still wet, the mud clinging to her dirty skin, her clothes were still waterlogged and held little warmth. She shivered with the effort to stay alive in the wind. Out in the open was the worst possible place she could be right now, but she couldn't go back to the village, they were sure to have told everybody by now.

But she needed food, her stomach was already paining her, she'd have to risk going back to the village, and stealing from them, she suddenly realized. She had left all of her money at the village when she had fled. She had two choices, starve, or steal. She shook her head, she needed to steal. Grimly, she stood from her crook in the oak tree. People would have to get used to this, they had forced it on her. Her stomach screamed again in agony and she placed her hand on it, begging it to be quiet so she could deal with the mental pain of going against her morals and stealing. Walking towards the village she wrapped her arms around her body as another cold breeze blew. Looking up she saw smoke rising from the village's ovens. They deserved getting stolen from; maybe she could get some dry clothing and a blanket while she was at it.

Hey, they'd brought this on themselves.


	2. A Teacher Found

**Arrendi: **hehe, I'm still confused at how you can react that much to any story… Except for Elizabeth Kerner's books… THOSE ROCK!

**Black Triforce: **Now will you tell me what you REALLY think?

**b.ofors: **Cryptic… wonderful, and I really hope that I can live up to your standards.

**ChipmunksUnite: **Thank you! I'm glad you do

**dancingirl3: **This fast enough for you?

**TheSilverChakra: **Thanks for your help, here's the next chappie.

_Well, I tried to make this longer, that's a hard thing for me, to fit enough into a chapter without stopping to early or to late and dragging it on. Hope you guys don't mind too much! _

* * *

The alluring scent of freshly baked bread filled her thoughts, as she carried her bag of stolen goods. A woolen blanket and several days' worth of clothing lay within. As she slunk through the rows of the markets, when a woman was looked away she reached carefully for a loaf of bread near the edge. She was stopped by the woman grabbing her wrist a mere inch from the bread. 

"What do you think you're doing missy?" The older woman asked sternly, a kitchen knife held firmly in her hand. The girl was still wearing her water soaked clothes. She looked down at the ground.

"Please lady, I didn't want to harm nobody, but I haven't eaten in three days and I have no money." She said, her stomach proving her point further.

"I don't appreciate thieves, but I haven't done any good deeds lately, so I'll give you some bread for nothing, but I won't stand for this a second time." The woman said smiling ever so slightly "Besides, I used to be dirt poor, I was lucky to get a meal a day." She laughed as she handed bread to the poor girl in front of her.

"Thank you mistress, I won't forget your kindness." She said bobbing her head excitedly as she gripped the still warm bread for her life and ran off. The old woman smiling watched her all the way.

"She's got a special destiny that one." She muttered turning back around and gathering some more loaves.

"Excuse me, ma'am? How much bread can we get for two copper pieces?" a young girl's voice asked behind her. The woman turned around.

"Two loaves." She said looking over her new customers. There were two water tribesmen, both dressed still in the fashion of their people, and a bald monk looking boy.

"We'll take two loaves then." The girl sighed "Sorry guys, we're going to have to go on rations, I was hoping we could get three." She told her companions as she handed over the money.

"Here you go, thank you for the business." She said, handing over a bag with the bread in it before going back inside.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! You gave us three loaves!" the girl, called Katara, shouted behind the woman, as she looked inside. They waited for a few moments before walking away.

"I think she meant to give us three loaves Katara," the monk boy told the girl "Don't worry about it, she would've come back if she hadn't." he said.

"I just hope that she doesn't lose too much money for it Aang." Katara sighed "What do you think Sokka?" she asked, turning to her brother.

"Honestly, I'm just glad we got some more food. Why couldn't you just use the medal the king gave us? He said it would get us free food and board in the entire earth kingdom." Sokka told his younger sister.

"I didn't want to force her to give us anything Sokka. People don't always have enough to live by." Katara told her brother sternly.

"She is right you know," Aang said smirking ever so slightly, as Momo crawled over his shoulders, hopping from one to the other "But right now I'm more worried about finding someone to teach me firebending, the comet is only a few weeks away and I have to learn it by then." Aang said sadly "I don't think I can do this."

"Of course you can Aang. You're the Avatar, you'll figure it out. I mean, look how quickly you learned waterbending!" Katara said, attempting to cheer him up "look, why don't you and Sokka go and get Appa, I'm going to look around for a few more things we'll need." She pushed them off and waved good bye as she wandered back through the streets, keeping an eye out for anything they might need for the next week or so. She was glancing around at a vegetable stand when she spotted a girl in torn dirty clothes with chestnut hair that was hunched over in a nearby alley. She was slowly eating a bit of bread, shivering when the wind came. Katara walked up to her and knelt down.

"Are you okay?" She asked the girl curiosity streaming her features.

"Yes, and I didn't steal the bread if that's what you meant to ask." She said turning away and eating the food bit by bit.

"I wasn't going to. I'm Katara, what's your name?" She asked gently.

"I'm not a child Katara, but my name is Fiam." She told the girl eating through the bread slowly.

"You're all wet!" Katara suddenly realized "You weren't out in that storm last night were you!" She asked shocked.

"That and every other storm for the past week thank you very much." Fiam replied, obviously annoyed.

"Come on, I might have some dry clothes you could have. They'll be back at camp." Katara said offering the girl a hand. She took it carefully and when she stood up, she was a full head over Katara.

"I can see why you were annoyed when I treated you like a child. How old are you anyway?"

"16." Fiam answered as she followed Katara through the village, past the many colored shops and stalls. They were almost out of the village when a voice rang out over the crowd, causing many to run from it, some people screaming in alarm.

"There's the firebender! Get her!" Katara and Fiam turned almost simultaneously to see the source of the shout. A group of three village men and seven earthbenders were standing at the top of the rise that the two girls had just come down from. Katara snapped her head around wildly searching for the firebender, expecting someone in full armor. She was surprised when she looked next to her to find that her companion had disappeared. A flash of chestnut hair in the alleyway caught her attention and she turned to look as the men came running towards her, but they ran past her. Looking at each other, and yelling angrily.

"She was just here! People do not disappear into thin air!" Who appeared to be the captain shouted at the others, two of them suddenly noticed Katara, who was looking at them curiously.

"What are you looking at?" They demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize looking was against the law!" Katara said angrily turning to walk away, one of the guards grabbed her arm.

"Stat your business." The taller one stated.

"My friends and I came here to pick up some supplies." Katara said restraining herself from forcing him to let go of her.

"A likely story. I bet you're here to help the firebender, you were talking to her. I saw." The shorter one said.

"I swear! It's the truth!" Katara said exasperatedly, she didn't have time for this "Now would you please let me go? My friends and I are leaving soon."

"Where are your friends?" The tall guard asked her.

"They're at our camp, it's a little ways out of town in the forest, we needed to buy some supplies. They should be packing up to leave right now." She told them, calming herself down, telling her mind over and over that this was just a safety precaution.

"Why didn't you just stay at the inn?" The short guard asked, was he still suspicious?

"We don't have enough money; we just had enough to get some food, that's all." Katara told them. Their captain signaled them to let her go as they walked back to their group, which was now heading back up the rise. Katara sighed and walked away thinking about how rude they had been. It was only when she was out of the village that she heard a rustling in the bushes that caused her to turn abruptly.

"Who's there?" She asked surprised at the sudden noise.

"Katara?" Fiam asked as she crawled out of the bushes, her wet clothes stained with mud, the sack that hung off of her shoulders has several leaves, still wet from the storms, stuck to it.

"Fiam, what were you doing in there?" Katara asked, forgetting that her friend had run away when the guards had spotted the firebender, and told her that she had been talking to the firebender too.

"Hiding," came her simple reply, as the poor girl stood up to her full height.

"You're the firebender?" Katara suddenly shouted in surprise, realizing what her friend was, by putting together the clues around her (normally, Katara wasn't this slow to figure things out, but she had been distracted by anger at the guards and the fact that she had to carry back a lot of supplies by herself.).

"Umm…yeah?" She squeaked, shrinking back down to go back under the bushes.

"You don't support the Fire Nation do you?" Katara asked, suddenly fearing her friend ever so slightly.

"Heck no, I washed up on shore here about 3 years ago after six months out at sea. Can't remember much before that, just vague images really, must have hit my head. Didn't really ever support the Fire Nation, if I did, I don't now. Why do you ask?" Fiam asked as she stood back up. _Please don't realize I'm lying, _she thought urgently.

"Would you want to help stop them?" Katara asked, suddenly feeling braver.

"How?" Fiam asked shrugging it off as impossible.

"Train the Avatar." Katara whispered to her new friend.

"The Avatar?" Fiam said disbelievingly "The only way I'll believe he's back is if he comes swooping down right no-"

"Hey Katara! Who's your friend?" The monk boy called out as he landed on the ground "Are you ready to go yet? Sokka's waiting with Appa." Aang said as he walked toward them.

"Okay, I'll teach him." Fiam said raising her hands in defeat.

"Teach who what?" Aang asked curiously leaning on his staff happily.

"You Firebending." Katara told him.

"She doesn't look like a firebender." Aang said cocking his head and squinting his eyes at Fiam who glared at him.

"Do you want to learn or not?" She asked angrily, boring holes into the young Avatar.

"I do, it's just, all the firebenders I've seen wear full armor." Aang said, looking Fiam in the eyes.

"Ok then, my name is Fiam. I shall teach you all I know about firebending. Just to warn you, I will not go easy on you."

"I don't expect you to," Aang said grinning widely "I just need to learn this."

"Then we should leave and find a quiet place to train." She told him as the three walked to meet Sokka.

"Who's she?" Sokka asked when he saw Fiam.

"She's Aang's teacher for firebending." Katara told Sokka as they climbed onto Appa who took off as soon as they were all situated.

"She doesn't look like a firebender…" Sokka said cocking his head and squinting his eyes. Fiam giggled at first but then it became full blown laughter, and as she laughed, Katara and Aang joined her and poor Sokka was left in the dark.


	3. Fool Moon

**Black Triforce: **--

**b.ofors: **lol thanx. 9 HOURS! That is a lot of talking

**Darwarrior 12: **can do!

**Ishtar: **The arc is a little slow to pick up… but it will start!

**Nala: **thanks, and I already did

_

* * *

A six year old Zuko sits on the marble step of the back gardens, he appears about to cry, but is holding it in._

"_You know, it does better if you let it." A little girl said walking up to him, curtsying quickly before she sat down next to him. _

"_Who are you?" Zuko asks sniffling ever so slightly_

"_My name is Fiammetta," The little girl said smiling widely; she was thin, and dressed in a pretty pink kimono. Her tawny hair was pulled into pigtails on either side of her head. _

"_I'm Zuko." The boy told her. _

"_I know that silly! You're the prince! Everybody knows your name!" The girl exclaimed giggling happily. Zuko looked down at the mention of his position. _

"_What's wrong?" she asked, stopping her giggling. _

"_Nothing." _

"_Come on, something has to be wrong!" _

"_I said NOTHING WAS WRONG!" _

"_Well Zuko, I may be a silly girl but something is definitely wrong." The girl told him, leaning back on her elbows. Zuko turned to stare at her._

"_I didn't say you were a silly girl." He said, confused slightly._

"_But you were thinking it weren't you? Don't deny it; everyone thinks that I'm a silly girl for wanting to be a master firebender." Fiammetta told him laughing to herself._

"_You know firebending? But Sensei said that only men could be firebenders!" Zuko exclaimed, deeply surprised. Fiammetta's sparkling blue eyes darkened._

"_Then I'll just have to show him, won't I?" _

"So, where should we go for training?" Aang asked his new teacher excitedly, hoping from one foot to another upon Appa's back.

"Calm down, I need to find out a few things. Do you know how to meditate?" Fiam asked leaning against Katara's sleeping bag.

"No, not really." Aang said staring blankly at her. Fiam sat up straight at that.

"Well that's where we need to start then. Sit like I am." She commanded and Aang instantly followed her lead.

"Now breathe in for a count of seven." Aang did so "Hold it for a count of seven, now release it at the same speed." Aang followed her direction.

"Now, clear your mind of all thought, but keep the breathing pattern." She ordered counting allowed.

"One… Two…Three…Four…Five…Six…Seven. One… Two… Three… You're not concentrating. Start over, and Momo, Please stay away from Aang right now. One…Two…Three…Four…Five…Six…Seven…" She said watching as Aang attempted to meditate. His eyes twitched under his eyelids giving away his thoughts, but he really was trying, that much was obvious, he finally settled down and Fiam could meditate in earnest.

"_Zuko! I did it! I got my master rank!" Fiammetta cried happily, rushing to her friend who picked her up in a hug, she was his height, but she weighed far less, making it possible for him to swing her around like a father would a three year old. _

"_That's great!" He said, smiling broadly. She smiled back at him as he set her back down._

"_I told you I would do it!" She said laughing happily. _

_  
"Only doubted you once." Zuko said jokingly. Fiammetta hit him over the head lightly in false anger._

"_I have some bad news though…" She said suddenly sobering._

"_What? What happened?"  
_

"_I've been betrothed."_

"How can you stand to sit still that long?" A voice broke through her half-thoughts and she blinked several times to clear away the fog of her meditation.

Aang was still sitting in his meditative pose, but his eyes were open and he was looking incredibly annoyed.

"Sokka! I almost had it!"

"Sorry, I was just curious." He said holding his hands up in some half-defense. Fiam moved her legs out from under her and immediately gasped in pain as a million needles pricked at her skin.

"What?" Sokka asked turning to her.

"My leg fell asleep." Fiam told him grinning sheepishly as she tried to rub her blood back through the pained leg.

"Well, there's some islands, maybe we should rest there for tonight, Appa's probably tired by now." Katara, who had been directing Appa all day said pointing to the small archipelago below them, said looking behind her at the other three passengers.

"Ok." Aang agreed, as soon as he did so, Appa started his descent.

"So, how long were you in that village?" Sokka asked Fiam, wanting to get more information on their new 'friend'

"About 3 years. Why do you ask?" She said innocently turning to face the boy who was approximately the same age.

"Just curious… how old are you anyway? 20 something?" He asked her again, which earned himself a laugh that could have been music if they didn't know better.

"I'm sixteen." She said, laughing more and more, until she could finally calm herself down.

"Sixteen?" Sokka asked surprised, she was so tall for her age, and she seemed so much older, heck, yet she was just as old as he was.

"That's what I said Mr. Intelligence." She said sarcastically sitting up straight, while still managing to stretch her legs out enough to get the blood back through them. Her comment set Katara and Aang laughing. Looking down at the island that they were drawing closer to, Sokka spotted a cave on the side of a cliff that would be incredibly hard to reach with out flying, he pointed it out to the others and they descended.

Now the cave turned out to be a very good find. The entrance was large enough for Appa to squeeze in and the way to the gave was treacherous enough to keep all but the most determined attackers away, and even then the fire nation would not be able to get to it wearing their armor. So in other words, it was relatively safe.

"We could stay and train here," Fiam said "I spotted a couple of places that would be good to train at when we were flying over." Aang smiled widely.

"That sounds good." For, they had not stayed in one place since they were in Omashu, training with the king and they wanted to be in one place yet again, so staying in one place to train was currently a very inviting idea.

"We'll need to set up the camp and a spot to meditate where we can be protected from any weather that might decide to disturb us." Fiam told them as Sokka went to gather wood for a fire and Katara went to find water. Fiam walked off to find a good spot in the cave where they could meditate and Aang practiced his earthbending by moving larger rocks to form a fire pit. Fiam came back first, saying she had found a good spot near the back of the cave that they could meditate at.

"Why is meditation so important?" Aang asked her as she sat down near the empty fire pit.

"Fire is a wild thing, there a many a practiced bender that have lost control over their fire. Meditation helps to keep its wild spirit under control." Fiam replied staring into space

"Does your mind go blank when you meditate?" Aang asked curious.

"When I start meditating yes it does go blank. But you'll discover that once you get into the deeper trances, memories and half-thoughts will come to the surface. Meditation is also used to sort out your thoughts, and organize them." Fiam answered still staring away.

"So once I get good enough at meditation I'll see things during the trance?" Aang asked, still curious.

"Most likely, since you're the Avatar, once you reach the deeper trances, you'll be able to speak to your past selves." Fiam said shutting her eyes slightly to rest them.

"So that's what Avatar Roku meant!" Aang said as the realization struck him hard. Fiam looked at him strangely

"Indeed…" She said uncertainly.

"I got the wood!" Sokka said happily as he set down a large bundle of logs and kindling. Fiam got up and arranged the wood in an A shape with the kindling scattered among the larger logs she held her palm above it a thin stream of fire leapt out, lighting the pile of wood. Sokka simply stared at the small show of controlled fire as Katara came back with her canteen full, as well as her brother's and Aang's.

"Well I got the water, there's a stream at the bottom of the cliff if we need to wash anything." She told them as she sat down.

"I'll cook tonight." Fiam offered as she gathering supplies off of Appa's back.

"Well, at least it's not Sokka's food." Aang snickered behind his hand.

"And what's wrong with my food?" Sokka yelled.

"It stinks, that's what!"

"Both of you, opposite corners now." Katara ordered, sounding very annoyed, as she sent some water into the pot that Fiam had set over the fire. Both boys immediately sat in the opposite sides of the cave. Fiam laughed happily as she placed some rice into the water with several spices that made the whole cave smell delicious. Sokka groaned and sat waiting until the food would actually be ready.

Aang simply blew the smell away from himself and towards Sokka as he watched Fiam drop pieces of dried chicken into the nearly ready rice mixing it together deftly, sprinkling spices in as she did so. Sokka couldn't help himself, he started to drool.

Dinner had been delicious and soon after all four of the companions had gone to sleep. Sokka, Katara, and Aang slept in their bedrolls, Fiam in her cloak, sleeping in a sitting position leaning against the cave wall.

"_What are you doing?" A thirteen year old Zuko asked as he sat next to his friend._

"_I'm looking at the moon." Fiammetta replied, her eyes never leaving the glowing orb that dangled freely in the sky, surrounded by millions of flickering candles in an inky back drop._

"_What are you looking for?" He asked her softly as he joined in her dogged staring._

"_An idea, an inspiration…" She trailed off, her crystal blue eyes staring hopelessly out over the lake they sat next to, the reflection rippled as a swan landed gracefully in the very center of it. _

"_Those who look to the moon for answers to their own problems are fools." Zuko said angrily, he was still mad over the betrothal of his best friend. The girl, woman really, turned to face him suddenly, twin trails of tears streaming freely down her face._

"_I am a fool Zuko. I am a fool." she whispered as sobs began to rack her thin frame. _

Fiam opened her eyes with a jerk as she pulled herself up, leaving the blanket she had draped around her lower body pooled on the floor. She slid out of the cave like a wraith and followed a thin edge around, grabbing indents in the rock face as a foot and hand holds. It was only when she reached the top of the cliff did she realize that she was barefoot, for the coolness of the wet grass underneath them had awakened her senses.

"An hour with bare feet won't kill me." She muttered as she tore off her cloak and spread it beneath her like a blanket. She sat down slowly, tucking her knees under her chin, which was resting on her crossed arms. She stared at the half-full moon, her eyes flickering with memories. Stray tears rolled down her face, and laughter rang a few times, but the same look of hopelessness was always hidden underneath it all.

Aang woke early the next day, the sun was barely above the horizon, but a cheerful fire was already crackling in the fire pit, a pot of rice slowly cooking, but no one was there, until he saw Fiam walking in with a bundle of wood held tightly against her chest, and a smile graced her face when she saw Aang was awake.

"Good. You'll need to eat something then we're going to meditate. There's a spot in the back of the cave that should be good." She told him as she ladled out a bowl of rice and handed it to him. He ate quickly before the two headed to their meditative spot. It was a large circular cavern that had a few stalactites and stalagmites but it was pretty much empty. The two sat down in what was called the lotus position and closed their eyes.

"One…Two…Three…Four…Five…Six…Seven…"


	4. Captured

_I'm sorry for the long wait, but I've had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. And I know it's not long, but I'm trying ok? There might be longer chapters in the future, but not right now ok? _

_I don't own Avatar or any related titles and characters, except of course Fiam, she is of my own creation. _

**Arrendi: **I was trying to go for this thing where he has been greatly changed in a short period of time because he was 13 in the flashback and 16 in the real story. I was hoping that that was the over all feeling of the story so far, change.

**b.ofors: **Well thank you good sir curtsies Of course I would use your idea! It was awesome!

**Bird o' Prey: **Thanks, and I will, but sometimes it's just hard to catch things like that.

**dancingirl3: **I'm sorry, I'm working on chapter length but don't get your hopes up anytime soon, it'll be awhile before they get to terribly longer.

**me: **You will find out later on. I'm trying to get this story updated as quickly as possible.

_There are two reasons why I will not really go into detail about the training, A) I would not be sure how they trained B) it's actually not all that important to this story. _

* * *

Now training Aang was a blessing in disguise, for training him was like teaching someone who had had amnesia how to firebend, this wasn't the first time they had learned it, but they had forgotten it completely. It was familiar, but still needed teaching. So it was still hard work, and kept her thoughts off of her past. God it still hurt to think about that. 

As Fiam taught Aang, the weeks flew past, and once again, the urge overpowered her, she rose from her sleep, her cloak firmly around her shoulders and she scaled the wall of rock to sit on it's soft top and stare up at the now full moon.

Now unfortunately for her, the firebenders of Prince Zuko's crew were camped on the island, after hearing of a rumor of fire appearing and disappearing for long periods of time without catching anything around from the villagers that fished the rich oceans that surrounded this isle. So they had the whole crew searching the island, and they were to call the Prince and his Uncle should they find anyone.

But it was the Prince's group that found the first person. As they walked, silent as cats, through the endless forest that blanketed much of the island, they suddenly came to the end of the forest. And beyond the edge of the forest was a cliff. And just on the edge of the cliff, her back to them, sat a girl, whose face was hidden by a cloak's hood, her shadow made longer by the full moon at which she was staring intently.

His soldiers looked to him for the command, and he gave it. They were on her and had her unconscious before she even knew what was happening. The men picked her up gracelessly and tore of the cloak that she had had wrapped around herself and tossed it to their prince. He looked at it for a second before he saw the tiny hint he was looking for, a single white hair, stuck to the outer layer of the fabric, looking at it closely, it became clear that it belonged to the flying bison of the Avatar.

He tossed the cloak lazily towards an oak tree nearby, his dagger following soon after, pinning it to a tree, a tiny flame licked at the very end of the hilt as his soldiers bound the girl's wrists and ankles together, to prevent her escape, should she awaken. The group headed back to the ship, Zuko and Iroh never looking at the girl closely, even as she was thrown into one of the prison cells below deck.

"She has to be a new companion… I haven't seen her before." Zuko mentioned to his uncle as they watched the guards lock her shackles to the wall, so that they crossed in an X formation at the wrists, locked together by a freshly done welding job, cooled off by water, yet still they could hear them burn her wrists with a satisfying sizzle. They were linked to the wall by exactly three iron chain links, all of them thick and strong. She was left in a sitting position, her legs tucked under her, splaying outward from the calf down. Her chestnut hair fell messily around her, blocking her face from view. Zuko, Iroh, and the guards left the room, locking it securely behind them.

Some time afterwards, Zuko stood on the deck of his ship, moving at full speed away from the archipelago, the first streaks of false down were just now beginning to creep across the over cast sky. He reached under his armor and pulled out a golden ring on a silver chain, he fingered it slowly, glaring at the tiny diamonds encrusted into it. Funny how this had once been a symbol of hope, now a symbol of the pain love brought, now a reminder that he had once been happy. It was all that he had left of that time.

Now that he thought back to it, it had been this very day, three years ago. Scowling he walked away from the side and back into the ship, feeling a powerful urge to go yell at somebody.

* * *

Aang's eyes cracked open slowly, the darkness of the cave being overpowered by the light entering through the mouth of the cave meaning Appa must have left already, which surprised him. Fiam was supposed to have woken him up early, as in before dawn, for a hike across the island to a secluded waterfall to carry on their meditation training. So why was he still here when the sun was high enough to see by? 

He walked through the cave, careful to avoid the still sleeping Sokka. Katara must have already left for the lake to bathe; she probably took Appa with her.

Aang stepped from the cave into the bright sun light of mid-morning, squinting as he did so, protecting his eyes against the light.

"That's funny…" He muttered to himself, judging by the sun it was around 10, Fiam wasn't in the cave so where would she be? He hadn't known her long, but she didn't seem the type to ditch something that was her responsibility.

"Aang!" A worried Katara called as she and Appa descended from the air.

"Katara?" Aang asked slightly confused.

"Firebenders, they were on the island not to long ago. The villagers on one of the other islands said that they stopped by not to long ago for supplies, one of the soldiers let it slip that they had a prisoner on the ship." Katara told him as Aang climbed up onto Appa.

"You don't think…?" Aang let the half question hang in the clear air. Katara didn't answer, but pulled out a rough cloak, it had a tear in it near the middle, and singes around the tear, as well as a dagger with an ebony handle, the very end of the grip was burnt.

"She's still alive; I found this on the top of the cliff." Katara told him "Go wake Sokka, I'll start packing.

"How long ago did you think they left?" Aang asked jumping down with Katara.

"Hours ago. We have to go fast if we're gonna catch up," She told him as she quickly gathered their things as Aang shook Sokka awake.

"Mommy, five more minutes…" He mumbled rolling over. Aang sighed irritably.

"Sokka! FIREBEDERS!" He shouted in Sokka's ears, as a flame appeared in his hand, holding it close to him. Sokka shot straight up.

"Ah! WHERE?" His head spun wildly around looking for the soldiers.

"Out at sea, they captured Fiam." Aang explained pulling him up "We have to get going." Katara slipped the bed roll out from under the half asleep Sokka, rolling it up quickly.

"They already have a head start, Sokka grab some stuff and load up Appa." She ran off, gathering Fiam's blanket as she went, Aang and Sokka gathered their bed rolls before rushing after Katara. They loaded Appa in a hurried panic, forcing him to take to the air. They had a friend to save.

* * *

Fiam opened her eyes to a sharp pain. She shut them quickly in hopes of dispelling the ache, but it only grew worse. She made to cup her head in her hands, but found them restrained. She risked opening her eyes, but quickly grew distressed. 

She was in the holding cell of a Fire Nation Navy ship. The soft glow of a candle fell in a shaft from the bared window in the door. Voices were heard from outside her cell.

"Are you sure we shouldn't check on her? Most people would be awake and struggling by now. Are you sure we shouldn't call the healer my lord?" A deep voice asked quietly, in submission to someone, obviously a higher ranking official.

"She doesn't need a healer. And I'll check on her myself." That voice was familiar, but where…

Zuko.

The memories rolled over her like a tidal wave; she barely held back the cry of pain. The door unlocked and the handle was turning. She shut her eyes and began to raise her body temperature as it opened; she heard the heavy footfalls of two men in full armor, one man in less than that.

"She's still not awake sir." The deep voiced man said, stating the obvious.

"If she's not awake in three days, call the healer. Alert me as soon as she wakes up." The Prince commanded.

"Yes sir." The two soldiers said, probably saluting him as Zuko left the room. The heavy foot falls sounded again and the large iron door slammed shut; she heard the locks clicking together.

Three days huh? She could live without food for three days. And at least she got to sleep some. She would have to keep her body heat up for this plan to work, but it might be possible. She resisted the urge to smirk, keeping her face smooth and peaceful. Wait for Aang, Katara, and Sokka, then escape. But even if that didn't happen, if she didn't wake up, they would eventually stop at a larger port to get her checked out and make sure whatever she have wasn't contagious. And then, under a lesser guard, she would be able to get away. She almost sighed, until she stopped herself, remembering her façade.

This was going to be long three days.


	5. All According to Plan

_Sorry for the overly long delay, this chapter has been giving me so much trouble._

_I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. _

_Get over it and move on with your life. _

"Which way was the ship headed when they left the port?" Katara asked one of the fishermen who was just about to leave the docks.

"They were headed east, at least I think it was east, maybe it was northeast, I don't know. Hey Ted!"

"Yeah?" a larger man, balding and muscled asked standing up from a pile of crates already on the small sailing ship.

"Which way was that Fire Navy ship headed when they left?"

"They went west."

"Are you sure? I could've sworn they went east… Hey Norman!" This time a scrawny man stood up from the ships decks.

"Yes?"

"Which way did that Fire Navy ship go when they left?"

"They went south, I'm sure of it."

"That's odd, Ted thinks they went west, and I think they went east…"

"You're all idiots," A tall, lanky boy said as he walked up to them, his hands stuffed into his pockets "They went North."

"The mighty earthbender speaks! Go back to your whore of a mother and take her with you when you crawl back under the rock you came from!" The first fisherman shouted at the new comber. The boy shook with rage and a pebble rose from the ground shaking slightly in the air.

"You can't even earthbend right!" Ted jeered, joining in the torment of the boy. Katara suddenly walked over to the boy and placed her hand on his shoulder, he looked up in surprise at her touch, staring into her eyes, looking for a hint of maliciousness in them; he was surprised to find none. Even more surprised when she turned to face the laughing fishermen.

"Hey girlie! Why are you standin up for him?" The first fishermen laughed "He's nothin but a worthless bastard!" Katara stared at them intently, moving her hands slightly as an overly large wave crashed over them.

"Thank you for your time good sirs, I believe I will make the decision for myself who are the ones that are truly worthless here." She said, turning away from them, the young boy staring after her.

"Aang, we have a problem." Katara sighed as she joined Sokka and Aang at their camp.

"What?"

"Well, I went around town and asked everyone I could find which way the Firebenders went."

"And…?"

"Everyone had a different direction."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

"Which way should we go then?" Aang asked as he plopped onto the ground next to the flying bison.

"I think we should go north." Katara said kneeling next to him.

"And why's that?" Sokka asked from on top of Appa.

"There was an earthbender who I think I trust even more than everyone else."

"Well, why was that?"

"He just seemed a little more……… intelligent than the other people I asked."

"Oh."

"I don't like it; we can't run off in any direction with Fiam's life at stake here." Sokka said sighing heavily.

"I know that!" Katara yelled in exasperation "But else can we do?"

"She's right you know…" Aang sighed as he stared up at the sky above them.

"What if we find out which dock they left from?" Sokka asked rubbing his chin lightly in thought.

"That wouldn't help." Katara sighed

"Why not?" Her brother asked

"The bay here is too big, we wouldn't be able to tell which way they went." She said angrily

"Okay then, we're back where we started. Any suggestions?" Aang asked trying to make piece.

"You could let me show you, I was out on the cliffs when they left." A voice spoke from behind them, causing the three to spin around. Katara sighed in relief when she realized it was the earthbender from the village.

"Hello," Katara greeted him, smiling brightly.

"Ummm… hi. **Do** you want my help?" He asked suddenly unsure of himself.

"Yes, it's better than doing nothing." Katara told him standing up "I'm Katara, that's Sokka, and that's Aang."

"Nice to meet you my name's Zan."

Dull.

Dull.

Duller.

Fiam sat her knees tucked under herself, both legs numb with sitting on them so long. She wanted to look up, exam her surroundings, cry, even hum an old nursery song, she wanted to do something! But no, she just had to sit here. And wait. And wait some more. God damn she wished she could sigh.

Duller.

Dullest.

Amazing! It just got even duller.

At least the fact that she had to pretend she had a fever kept her warm. She couldn't even imagine how much more uncomfortable she would be if she was cold on top of all of this. Suddenly off in the distance, she heard footsteps, they grew closer and closer, and suddenly there was the great big crashing noise of her two guards standing up to solute someone important.

Had the three days passed already? No, they couldn't have. Could they?

"Honestly, with all due respect My Lord, How can you expect her to be healthy enough to be questioned if she dies tomorrow? Or the next day? I'm a healer sir, not a miracle worker, with all due respect sir, and if we wait too long, that's what we'll need to get this girl back from the lands of the dead." That was a newer voice, definitely female, it sounded old, rough, and yet somehow comforting

"I have already told you Magoshi, that I want this girl to wait it out until the end of three days."

Guessing that the healer was going to check her temperature soon, she started to raise it even high, beads of sweat involuntarily popped out across her forehead and she moaned slightly as if in agony.

"Sir, I'm guessing she has grown worse in even the greater part of one day, what could be the harm in allowing her to go the infirmary now? You'll be able to question her soon sir."

"Fine, Fine, she is in your charge now, but should she escape at the next port, it is your fault."

"Yes, sir of course sir," there was a pause here as the healer most likely curtsied for her prince "You two out there, the extras, please go gather a stretcher and bring it back, quickly now." Footsteps rushed off followed by a slower more even pace, Prince Zuko, another set of slow steps came towards her, but slightly lighter than the armored prince's. She understood when suddenly the shackles around one of her wrists snapped off, fortunately the one behind the other arm, she allowed herself to swing dangerously to the side as the ship hit a wave and the woman began to unlock her other shackle as soon as she did, Fiam fell forward as if those shackles had been the only thing keeping her up. The woman caught her and they waited as the soldiers came back with the stretcher and placed her, rather roughly, on it and carried her off towards the infirmary.

All according to plan.


End file.
